Schatzkammer von Jianghu

Kapitel 4

Leng Qi stood tall in the courtyard, his hands clasped behind his back, bathed in the soft moonlight, exuding an aura of detached indifference. He glanced coldly at Chu Yi: "Turn left, seventh room." He remained standing in the courtyard, saying nothing more.

Chu Yi understood and arrived at the door as agreed, knocking twice.

"Please come in." A gentle voice came from inside the door.

The refined young man in white was already standing before the candlelight, smiling as he said, "This way, sir."

Chu Yi glanced at the white-robed young master and immediately replied, "I am but a humble person, and I dare not address you as 'young master'." He then walked to the wooden chair in front of the young master and sat down.

The young man in white quietly approached. Chu Yi saw his white robe getting closer and closer to her and closed her eyes, but she could still feel the young man's smiling gaze scrutinizing her face.

A faint fragrance of clothes wafted to his nose, along with a restless earthy smell. Chu Yi took a deep breath, his expression unchanged.

"Bear with it for a little while, or your handsome face will have to be replaced with a different one in the future." The white-robed young man's hands flew together, his movements gentle and practiced.

"It's alright," Chu Yi said casually.

"Do not touch water or scratch anything until tomorrow morning. Remember this."

"I will keep in mind your teachings, young master."

The young man in white stopped what he was doing, took a step back, and examined him closely: "Starting tomorrow, you will follow Master Zhao, who is fleeing the chaos, and serve him personally."

Chu Yi opened her eyes, but did not look directly at the white-robed young man. Her eyes were slightly lowered, as if she dared not offend the holy and ethereal young man before her.

The young man in white smiled and said, "Master Zhao is in poor health. He has decided to flee to his hometown in the Northern Prefecture for refuge, taking his family and property with him. Of course, he also has several guards with him, and you are one of them."

"yes."

"Also, Master Zhao is old and has a bad temper. He gets angry easily and can kill people." The white-robed young man still smiled slightly.

"yes."

“It’s so pleasant to talk to a smart child, go ahead.”

Chu Yi bowed slightly and turned to leave the room.

It was pitch black outside, with only frost on the eaves and a cold moon in the courtyard. Chu Yi strolled back to his room and saw Leng Qi still standing in the courtyard, entering the room with a calm expression. He lay down fully clothed, without lighting a lamp, and slightly turned his head to the left, running his hand behind his ear to the end of his hair before closing his eyes.

The silvery moonlight shone down on Qinglong Town, and everything seemed quiet and still.

"Lonely Triumph, get out here." A clear, loud voice came from outside.

Chu Yi lay flat on the bed, listening silently. He didn't know who the person called "Lonely Triumph" was, and no one answered; only the faint sound of two sharp, piercing winds could be discerned. "These two are quite skilled in martial arts," Chu Yi thought to himself, still keeping his eyes closed to rest.

With a sharp "crack," the door to the first-year room was snatched away, letting in a pale, pale moonlight. A cold, sharp gust of sword wind rushed in, hissing as it hurtled towards the person on the bed.

Chu Yi smiled bitterly to himself, raised his right hand, and with a flick of his wide sleeve, the sword wind receded completely. Seeing that they had already reached his courtyard, pretending to be dead or asleep wouldn't be honest.

Two figures fluttered gracefully in the moonlight, their movements elegant, as if they were reciting poetry and painting. At first glance, one was a young man in black, his face veiled in icy coldness, the moonlight flowing like an elegant veil around his silhouette. The other was a young man in brocade robes, his sword gleaming coldly, his figure swaying gently in the breeze like a willow branch.

However, the sword energy of these two was indeed too much for others to handle.

The wide sleeves of Leng Qi, dressed in black, fluttered in the wind from the sword strikes, and the cold moonlight cast long shadows of the two of them. The white-robed young master from before was nowhere to be seen in the courtyard.

"Their fighting style is so beautiful..."

On the first day, looking in the direction of the sound, he found that the window of the side room in the corner of the opposite courtyard was open, and the moonlight reflected the shadows of two people.

The slightly shorter one on the left is a woman in a yellow dress, around eighteen or nineteen years old, with an oval face and large eyes, smiling at the boy beside her with her lips pursed. The boy's appearance is much less striking than the girl's; his face is flat and expressionless, even somewhat wooden, yet the girl's gaze remains fixed on him.

"That young man in brocade robes is using the Willow-Slaying Sword Technique, which is said to have been created by Lady Willow of Mount Shu, and is most known for its pursuit of graceful movements..."

"Isn't that the swordsmanship practiced by women?" the boy asked blankly again.

"Idiot." The girl's eyes sparkled. "Watch closely, can you remember anything?" As she pulled the boy back, she lightly flicked her sleeves, deflecting the menacing sword energy with a couple of swipes.

The young man seemed dazed, but upon first glance, he was slightly moved. "This girl's two casual moves reveal such profound skill!"

"Who is that man in black? Where is his weapon?"

The girl sighed, "Look more closely at his sleeve."

The boy opened his eyes wide, his face still blank and expressionless.

"His weapon is hidden in his sleeves. He is the famous Shadow Sword Leng Qi."

"Shadow Sword Leng Qi?" the boy echoed.

Under the moonlight, Leng Qi, engrossed in his fight, seemed oblivious to everything else, focusing solely on the person before him. His hands flew, each strike aimed at the man in brocade robes' face. While Chu Yi had been listening to the two youths' conversation, the two in the courtyard had actually exchanged fewer than ten blows. This was mainly because the young man in brocade robes moved with agility, like a willow swaying in the wind, barely managing to withstand a single strike. He moved through the courtyard like a willow catkin fluttering in the breeze.

"Yingying, step back." In the moonlight, a god-like figure stood silently on the rooftop, cold and noble.

Upon hearing his master's command, the young man in brocade robes beamed with joy on his pale, sweat-covered face and fled towards the figure as if fleeing a famine.

Leng Qi spread her hands slightly and swept them from back to front. A scream was heard, and the figure in brocade was broken in two and fell to the ground. The white orchid-like fingers still pointed reluctantly to the roof.

The figure glanced at them indifferently, then was enveloped in a chilling moonlight, making the light in the courtyard seem even more eerie.

Leng Qi's fair and exquisitely beautiful face turned towards the right corner. A cold face, cold eyes.

The boy stared blankly back at Leng Qi, while the girl smiled slightly and stepped forward, blocking his way.

"Young Master Leng, that is my honored guest. I hope you will forgive him." The long-absent white-robed young master, Lonely Triumph, finally appeared gracefully in the courtyard.

Leng Qi pursed her thin lips, put her hands behind her back, and walked coldly to Gu Dukaixuan, stopping in front of him and looking into his warm, spring-like eyes: "Is it over?"

Lonely Triumph nodded: "Thank you for protecting me, young master."

Leng Qi didn't say a word, walked past him and left the courtyard.

Under the moonlight, in the courtyard, two white figures faced each other, one above the other.

"As expected, it's not easy to last ten moves under the Shadow Sword," the white-clad man on the roof said coldly.

"Another young master Xue has lost a disciple," Lonely Triumph replied with a smile.

Chu Yi then realized that the young man in brocade robes disguised as a woman was actually a servant personally trained by this Young Master Xue. The woman's light swordsmanship was indeed not weak, but she had encountered the renowned Leng Qi; Young Master Xue's martial arts must also be quite good. Chu Yi speculated.

Before anyone in the courtyard could even see how Young Master Xue moved, he had already landed lightly in the courtyard. His right hand slowly drew a two-inch-wide sword from his left sleeve, pointing it menacingly at the ground, his face displaying an unchanging indifference.

Lonely Triumph simply smiled and softly but clearly called out, "Ayu."

A soft yet sharp whooshing sound shot directly towards where Young Master Xue stood. A shimmering, dark blue whip, like a supple and graceful serpent, appeared out of nowhere. Looking again at where Young Master Xue had landed, he was nowhere to be seen.

The dark blue whip flashed sharply in the air again, and a black figure leaped out of the corridor, closing in within ten feet of Young Master Xue. The whip moved nimbly and skillfully, its movements shimmering and dazzling, shattering the silver on the ground into scattered jade fragments.

The Snow Prince moved with graceful ease, his robes billowing in the wind like white lotuses blooming in the snow.

“Alright, Ayu, Young Master Xue has been reluctant to retaliate, how can we shamelessly pester him?” Lonely Triumph suddenly spoke up clearly.

The woman named Ayu raised her right hand lightly under the moonlight, and the whip vanished from her palm in an instant. She silently bowed and retreated behind her solitary, triumphant figure.

Young Master Xue's hands hung at his sides, a faint halo veiling his indifferent face. His aura was almost imperceptible.

"I was entrusted with this sword, so I certainly cannot hand it over with both hands. However, if you insist on taking it, Young Master, we of Qingyu will certainly protect the sword loyally." Lonely Triumph smiled at the white-robed Snow Prince in the moonlight.

Young Master Xue glanced deeply behind Lonely Triumph, then spread his sleeves and, like a kite taking flight, disappeared behind the eaves of the house.

Alone and triumphant, he turned back and slowly looked at the woman in black, a gentle smile spreading across his face: "Our A-Yu has made an indispensable contribution!"

Ayu's calm face remained expressionless as she turned and walked into the darkness.

Lonely Triumph clasped his hands together and bowed repeatedly to the surrounding courtyard: "I apologize for disturbing you all, distinguished guests, to Qinglong Town tonight."

As soon as he finished speaking, the figures that had been hidden in the shadows around the courtyard disappeared, and the few scattered candles in the side room quietly went out. Chu Yi walked back to the room with the damaged door, lay down comfortably, and listened carefully, still able to catch two faint human voices.

"Yang Wan, what are all these people doing?" It sounded like the voice of that dazed young man.

Chu Yi heard a low sigh: "Yang Chao, stop pretending. I don't believe you can't see through anything."

"My head hurts so much, I can't remember anything."

"Alright, alright, I'm telling you, stop hitting your head..."

Who are they?

"The first person you see is Leng Qi, the famous young protector of Bixie Island. This person is not well-intentioned."

"Why?"

"He could have easily subdued Young Master Xue's men, but he forced her to run towards the corridor under the wall, breaking down the door of the young man across the street."

Chu Yi smiled wryly again after hearing this. He felt a dull sensation on his face, but his skin didn't move at all. Chu Yi realized it was because of the disguise technique.

Was it intentional?

"Yes, I don't know why," the girl said softly.

That was to test my martial arts skills and sincerity. Chu Yi thought to himself, still channeling his inner energy to stop their conversation.

"That Young Master Xue is..."

"You will naturally meet the renowned Young Master Xue from the four states of Pingyou, Yangqing, and Qing in the future, as well as three other young masters who are famous throughout the martial arts world."

He knew these stories at the beginning of the semester, having spent more than three months in the Qingyi Camp studying martial arts materials and related books.

"Wasn't he here to find Lonely Triumph? Why haven't they made a move?"

"Oh, silly boy." The girl patiently stayed with the boy. "When Young Master Xue's men were fighting Leng Qi, Lord Lonely Town must have had an urgent matter to attend to. Young Master Xue went to find him personally. He only appeared after Leng Qi had finished clearing the area. He must have handled things properly."

"How did you know?" the boy asked blankly.

“How could the proud and arrogant Leng Qi possibly take action for anyone other than their young master? The reason he took action must be because the Lonely Town Lord is helping Leng Qi with something, which is why Leng Qi left as soon as he appeared.”

"oh……"

"Come and sleep, Yang Chao, we have to take Ya Ya on our journey tomorrow!"

"And then what?"

"Yu Xue, one of the Four Gentlemen of the Martial World, wields a sword; Chu Xuan plays the flute; silver light shoots forth; and the Azure Phoenix rides the wind. This has become an immortal legend. It is not surprising that Young Master Xue is here; he has come for that Dragon Pattern Sword."

"Dragon Pattern Sword?"

"An ancient weapon, possessing it can make one a king." After a pause, the girl added, "However, we cannot rule out the possibility that Young Master Xue is a sword enthusiast and wants to collect this sword."

"Would the Dragon Pattern Sword be here?"

"'Seven stars are hard to find, the choice of ten thousand households. If the two are inseparable, the Azure Dragon will return in triumph.' The last line of this sentence refers to the powerful and resourceful Lord of Lonely Town, who connects merchants from all directions and facilitates trade. No matter what it is, as long as you can afford the price, he will definitely get it done for you. So the Dragon Pattern Sword is not a matter of whether it will be here or not, but that it will definitely be here in the end."

"Who is that Ah Yu? Why did she stop fighting with that young master in the end?"

"Qingyu Bian is a young master who has only recently emerged. Young Master Xue was able to move freely among the whip's shadows, so his martial arts are obviously superior to Qingyu's. As for why he stopped in the end, I don't know."

"Xiao Wan, one last question, who is the guy in black on the other side?"

After a long time, it seemed that the girl called Yang Wan had fallen asleep, and there was no sound.